The Spurs could be planning to make a big move

Trade season started with some huge transactions. Chris Paul is going to be Phoenix while the Bucks have revamped their backcourt by landing Jrue Holiday and Bogdan Bogdanovic from the Pelicans and Kings, respectively.

Beyond the already agreed upon transactions, there are reports about James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Gordon Hayward all potentially being on the move. The league is ready for a lot of action this offseason, and going by some reports, this time the Spurs might get involved.

There are plenty of trade rumors out there, some including the Spurs. Do you expect San Antonio to make any big moves?

Marilyn Dubinski: I think they’ll succeed in moving at least one of LaMarcus Aldridge or DeMar DeRozan, whether it’s before or after the start of the season, and it helps that they’re on expiring contracts. It may not be one the same scale as their 2018 trade, but I expect something to go down sooner or later. If I had to pick which one is more likely to be moved at this point, I’d probably go with Aldridge. While older, his game could be perceived as fitting into more offensive schemes these days thanks to his developing three-point shot, and rumor has it the Spurs wouldn’t mind returning the Bubble roster and seeing if there really was something there between DeRozan and the youngsters.

Mark Barrington: If it happens, we will hear about it the minute it happens, when they end up moving up in the draft if the player they want is available at the spot that they’ve prearranged a deal with. Sort of like when they moved up to the 15th pick in 2011 and drafted some guy. If it doesn’t happen on draft night, I don’t expect anything big. [NOTE: My record with predictions is really, really bad.]

Bruno Passos: It certainly sounds like they’re trying harder than usual to do something, so I’ll say yes. They still face the same realities we’ve touched on in the past given the complicated markets for an Aldridge or DeRozan, but there should be teams chasing situational upgrades that expire next summer.

Jesus Gomez: I sure hope so. I understand why the Spurs decided to go the direction they did when Kawhi Leonard forced his way out, but two years of respectable mediocrity with no clear path back to contention are enough. They need to shake things up as soon as possible, and with two veterans stars in the last year of their contracts and a stable of intriguing young talent, they could do just that.

Ideally, they’d flip DeRozan and Aldridge for an extra pick in this draft or a young prospect, but even if they get a future draft asset and an expiring deal back, I’d be fine with it. Trading any of the young players is a little trickier, but it shouldn’t be off the table either, if a good offer comes.

J.R. Wilco: Perhaps it’s my own wishful thinking, but I think that (considering the NBA Draft is upon us) when there’s the kind of smoke people have been smelling coming from San Antonio’s front office, there’s definitely some kind of something on fire somewhere. So many people are talking about how the Spurs are maneuvering for potential trades that I have a serious 2011 Draft feeling right now.

Nine years ago, the noise was about how Tony Parker might want to go to New York and/or how the Spurs might be wanting to move him ... so the smoke seemed to be going in a direction the wind wasn’t blowing, but PATFO really had been making moves behind the scenes and they ended up trading George Hill to move up in the draft so they could take KL and everybody knows the rest.

The point is that with all the stories coming out about with people saying how they’ve never seen San Antonio so active in the trade market, my thought is that they like someone who’s likely to go early in the draft — sooner than the 11th pick — and they’re talking with everyone they think is likely to value someone they have so they can do another 2011: i.e. trade a guy they love for a pick that’ll yield them someone that fills a need.

But I could be wrong. It’s happened before.